“I play music many hours a day. I start in the morning with the violin and then I go on with the piano. During the summer I stop for a while to swim and then I play the violin again”. Antonis Prekas from Emporio of Santorini is the son of the famous lute player Kyriakos and the grandson of the great violinist Antonis.

Family of musicians

In this family, whoever is called Antonis plays the violin and whoever is called Kyriakos plays the lute, so how could Antonis be an exception to that rule? His great grandfather, his grandfather, his grandmother, his father, his uncles, his aunts, everyone played musical instruments with unique mastery. Among them, his aunt Marketousa with her enchanting zither, who unfortunately passed away early at the age of 40.

Antonis’s father, who makes a living by fishing and not by playing the lute, is sad because he himself is not able to write his songs down and he makes a great effort to save money so that his son can follow classical music studies. “I had always been anxious about whether my son one day would grab the violin and continue the family tradition. I want to offer him the theoretical music training that I lack”.
Antonis, who grew up amongst fishing nets and musical instruments, actually began playing the violin at a very small age and he soon evolved into a musical prodify. He plays everything passionately, from local traditional music to Mozart and Beethoven, without underestimating any music genre.

Theoretical bases

Antonis's big advantage is the deep knowledge of music theory, which makes him different from the self-taught musicians. Local folk musicians often use a more complex rhythmic basis in an attempt to impress. He, however, with his deep theoretical background, believes in the saying that “a salad needs a little bit of salt in order to get tastier and not a handful of it”, and that’s why he stays away from artistic extremities.

He does not play the violin using only his heart, neither merely his mind; he uses them both at the same time and that's why everyone is stunned when listening to him playing. Despite the fact that tourism has totally invaded Santorini, its habitants religiously maintain their traditions and customs. In truth, there are two parallel worlds that co-exist on this magic rock of the Aegean Sea, without ever intersecting.
Antonis belongs to the genuine people of Santorini and he does everything he can to keep traditions alive, although he is very young. He is often requested to play at school festivals and perform Christmas carols and he has promised himself to keep playing them forever. He is not only an excellent musician but also a star pupil with high grades.

He supports Olympiakos, while among the foreign football teams he prefers Real Madrid and adores Christiano Ronaldo. He also has two bicycles -a mountain bike and a BMX. He also has a skateboard, but there is no square in the island for him to use it.. Last year he bought a computer and started surfing on the internet. He visits YouTube, where he watches his favorite rock bands, Green Day and Linkin Park.
TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS

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Santorini has everything, traditions and unique beauty.

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